


Full (Dog) House

by xhookswenchx (ReluctantPrincess)



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-22
Updated: 2019-10-22
Packaged: 2020-12-28 01:35:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,682
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21128615
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ReluctantPrincess/pseuds/xhookswenchx
Summary: Killian overdoes it at doggy adoption day.





	Full (Dog) House

**Author's Note:**

> So, this is a little late, and I apologize! But this little one shot was written for the CSPupstravagansa event. I hope you enjoy the Swan-Jones family and their new additions!

Emma pinched the bridge of her nose and tried not to lose her cool. All five of their children watched her intently. She could feel their eyes trained on her like they were expecting an explosion.

“I said one dog,” she said slowly, trying not to curse her husband, who was cradling two puppies in his arms. “And no puppies,” she added.

That was when she caught sight of Ivy, their youngest. The little girl’s bottom lip poked out and her eyes welled up with tears.

_ Great.  _

Killian finally spoke up. “To be fair, luv… you weren’t very specific.” When she shot him a dirty look, he quickly added: “About the required age of the dog.”

“They have to go back.” She hated being the bad guy, but two puppies? Who would be the one taking care of them? He’d essentially brought two babies into a home that was already filled to the brim.

Wails and cries rang out as the kids protested. They were quickly silenced by Killian, who handed a puppy each to Oliver and Leia. “Why don’t you take them outside to play?” he suggested. 

As soon as the door clicked shut, he held up a hand in surrender. “Swan-”

“No,” she said flatly. “You are not going to convince me this time. Two dogs, Killian? German Shepherds at that! They’re going to be huge.”

“They’ll grow with the children,” he explained.

Okay, she could give him that one. But  _ two  _ dogs? 

“One.” She refused to budge on the matter.

“They’re brothers,” he protested. “They were abandoned shortly after they were born, and the vet spent a lot of time making sure they survived. They need us.”

“We can’t take care of two puppies,” she reiterated.

“They’ve got a clean bill of health, but apparently are inseparable. It’s made them hard to adopt out.” 

“Killian-”

“They need each other,” he said.

_ Right. The brother thing. _

“I never would have survived without my brother,” he continued, though he didn’t have to. Emma knew all too well about the bond he shared with Liam. 

Sounds of laughter rang out as the kids played in the yard with the dogs. It was obvious they -Killian included- were already attached. “Please tell me they haven’t named them yet.”

She groaned when he grinned sheepishly.

“Jolly and Roger.” 

_ Of course. _

Arguing was pointless, but she gave it one last shot anyway. “You were supposed to be the adult,” she accused. It did no good. He was looking at her with the same hopeful eyes as their children. In a way, she could understand his attachment to the dogs. What better place for a couple of strays than their home? “They’re your responsibility,” she stated.

“You mean we can keep them?”

“Yes.”

“Both of them, right?” he asked. 

“Yes,” she confirmed. “We can keep both of them. But I’m serious, Killian. They’re your responsibility.”

* * *

True to his word, Killian and the kids took on all the responsibilities, save for very few times when Emma was the only one home. 

She found after the first week that it wasn’t any more chaos than she was used to. Sure, there was more noise than usual, and the night time whining could make mornings rough, but it wasn’t much different than when their children were babies.

_ Correction. _

It was exactly the same as having babies.

The only difference was that the dogs had a habit of getting in her way at any possible moment. It wasn’t  _ much  _ different than maneuvering around kids, except for the fact that they were much easier to trip over. 

No matter what she tried though, Jolly and Roger always seemed to be content under her feet. Or on her lap. Or on her side of the bed.

One morning, after a particularly difficult dog scolding, Hope asked her why she didn’t like the puppies.

That wasn’t the case. Emma had never had a pet. It was something she’d always wanted, but never thought she’d ever get. And now, they had two dogs that should have made her happy, but only served to get in her way.

It warmed her heart to see her family so happy, she just wished she could find some sort of balance of her own.

She also wished they’d just leave her alone for a few minutes. 

Apparently, it was too much to ask for. 

Whether it was Jolly or Roger who tripped her up, she couldn’t be sure. All she knew was that everything hurt when she hit the floor. 

Had all of the kids not witnessed it, she might have magically fixed herself before they even noticed. Unfortunately, with all of them fussing over her now busted leg, she would never get away with it.

Sometimes, she really hated the fact that she made up the “we can’t always rely on magic” rule.

One trip to the ER later, and she found herself in a cast with strict instructions to take it easy.

“All right, luv,” Killian sighed as he sat next to her on the couch. The dogs are outside, and the children are with their grandparents tonight. There’s no excuse.”

He didn’t need to clarify, she already knew he meant she needed to actually listen to the doctor for once. “Dinner?” She asked, not that she really wanted to cook, but it would be something to do.

“Already handled,” he assured her. “Chinese. Should be here shortly.”

“Fair enough,” she nodded. “Please tell me you didn’t forget the egg rolls.”

“A mistake I’d only make once,” he stated. “Also one I believe I’ll never live down.”

She laughed at that, remembering the night in question. She and Charlie were the only ones who actually ate said egg rolls, so while the other kids hadn’t noticed, for Charlie, the world had just about ended. 

“I’ve also been thinking,” he said. “About the dogs.”

“Oh?”

“It’s really not working out, is it?” 

Emma hated the sound of defeat in his voice. Especially when he’d been so hopeful that they’d be able to give Jolly and Roger a good home. “I wouldn’t say it’s not working out,” she tried. “It’s just a… bit of a change.”

Killian shook his head. “I don’t know what I was thinking, bringing two puppies into a home with so many children.  _ Our  _ children at that. It’s hard enough wrangling that rambunctious lot, and then I threw in two dogs who have done nothing but drive you crazy since the moment we brought them in.”

“Hey-“

“I’ll talk to your parents tomorrow,” he interrupted. “Perhaps their farm is a better match.”

“Absolutely not.”

“Well, I can't just take them back,” he argued. 

“They're staying here,” she insisted. “I know it’s been rough, but I’ll figure it out. Or they’ll mellow out. Or they’ll decide they don’t like me all that much after all and leave me alone. But no matter what, they’re not going anywhere. We aren’t breaking the kids’ hearts like that.”  _ Or Killian’s heart.  _

He thought about it for a moment, and she wondered if he might argue. “Are you certain?”

“Yes,” she laughed. “Besides, those dogs are family now. Even if they  _ are  _ a little obnoxious, they’re a part of this… chaos.”

“And you’ll tell me if it becomes too much, right?” he asked. “I understand where you’re coming from, but you deserve to be happy too.”

“I’m happy.” It wasn’t a lie. She  _ was  _ happy. As crazy as everything was, seeing her family so overjoyed with the dogs -even if they were the bane of her own existence sometimes- was worth it.

Over the course of the next few weeks, she tried to keep her grumbling to a minimum. The last thing she needed was for Killian to second guess his decision to keep the dogs. 

And really, their home  _ was  _ the perfect place for Jolly and Roger. Plenty of kids to run around with, a huge yard to tear up…

One Emma to pester…

She found them to be fairly sympathetic to her plight. The once hyper dogs were now almost gentle… even when bugging her. The same could not be said for the kids, who seemed to forget that it was  _ their  _ fault she couldn’t just magically fix her broken leg.

Okay… not entirely their fault. It was her rule, after all.

Then one day, it happened. Both Jolly and Roger knew very well they weren’t allowed on the couch, but when they jumped up and snuggled next to Emma -like little doggy bookends- she didn’t have the heart to kick them off.

“Just this once,” she informed them. “And only because I feel bad for not letting you sleep on the bed anymore.”

The three of them fell asleep on the couch, only waking up when the front door swung open and the kids came rushing in.

Killian caught sight of them when he came into the house. “You know the rules, boys,” he frowned at the dogs. Emma knew it was only because he was trying to help her out. There was definitely a rule, but she wasn’t going to pretend she didn’t know that Killian and the kids let the dogs on the couch when she wasn’t around.

Jolly whined, and Roger looked up at Emma with big, pleading eyes.

“They’re fine,” she said. “We agreed it was okay just this once.”

“You agreed?” Killian laughed. 

“Yeah,” Emma grinned. “They were just keeping me company. You know… because I can’t exactly go running around the park with all of you at the moment.”

“Mama…” Ivy climbed up onto Emma’s lap and whispered in her ear. “If you wanna use magic, I won’t tell!”

Killian snorted out a laugh. Ivy’s whispers weren’t the quietest.

“I’ll be just fine,” she told her youngest. “The doctor said only a couple more weeks.” Despite her dislike of light duty and taking it easy at home, she had to admit… it wasn’t as bad as she made it out to be. “Until then, the dogs and I can just chill out and let everyone else take care of us!”


End file.
